Friday, SepfartiLer 29, I 944
Page Thirteen.
THE JEWISH NEWS
Post-War Reconstruction
Responsibilities Facing
Jewry in Post-Hide- r Era
National UJA Chairman Describes Jewry's Duty in the
Approaching Reconstruction Period; Detroit First
Large Community to Conduct War Drive
By RABBI JONAH B. WISE
National Chairman, United Jewish • Appeal
for Refugees, Overseas Needs and Palestine
(Written for The Jewish News)
Few of us can adequately express the full meaning of
the words post-Hitler era. The deep emotions crowding to
the surface on the occasion of the great and final release
from suffering are, like the horrors which preceded them,
beyond description. Only history will be able to fill , in, in
true perspective, everything but the superficial manifesta-
tions of deliverance and rejoic-
DR. JONAH B. WISE
acting through its special ., repre-
sentatives in Turkey, succeeded
in arranging for the emigration
of Jewish refugees from the
in g-
Balkans, the Joint Distribution
Since many historians regard ing, During the past five years Committee was called upon to
of
war,
the
United
Jewish
Appeal
the calendar as an indispensible
provide the funds for their trans-
factor, we shall find recorded a for Refugees, Overseas Needs and portation, and the United Pales-
Palestine
has
been
an
instrument
specific line of demarcation be-
tine Appeal was required to give
tween the Hitler and post-Hitler of major importance in provid- assurance that funds would be
ing
the
sinews
of
rescue.
Through
period. And that, the newspaper this campaign,
s American Jews available for their adjustment
dispatches advise us, will be
effectively
unified
their efforts and maintenance in Palestine.
known as V-E Day, which the
Wherever the War Ref4gee
to
help
large
number
of Jews
military experts tell us, may
Board opened a door of escape,
overwhelmed
by
Nazi
oppression.
come not later than Tuesday,
the funds of the United Jewish
What the constituent agencies of Appeal had to be ready to fur-
Octber 31,
the United Jewish Appeal—the nish the means for bringing its
First Drive in Detroit
Joint Distribution Committee,
Under the circumstances, the the United Palestine Appeal, and rescue ptans to fruition. As Mr.
Jewish . community of Detroit the National Refugee Service— Pehle himself has said, the
will be the first large section of have accomplished in the war agencies of the United Jelvish
the Jewish population in this years, in the face of almost in- Appeal and the War Refugee
country to engage in a post- superable difficulties and ob- Board work as a team, with the
European war campaign. In stacles, has clearly indicated Board carrying on its activities
other words, funds which will that they are destined to play chiefly in the diplomatic field,
be raised by the Allied Jewish an even greater role in the large- and with the agencies meeting
Campaign through its affiliation scale reconstruction and rehabi- the principal costs and assisting
with the War Chest of Metro- litation projects of the immediate in the actual job of rescue.
Youth's Escape to Palestine
politan Detroit will be raised for future. The experience of the
Perhaps the following story of
meeting Jewish needs in the first past years has clearly demon-
year after Hitler. As the Jews strated that while governmental a young Polish Jewish boy nam-
of Detroit prepare for this cam- aid is essential in alleviating the ed David will help illustrate how
paign, they must recognize the plight of the refugees, many im- the board and the United Jewish
fundamental fact that they will portant tasks will have to be Appeal agencies are working to-
iireet the obligations of the first carried on by such private gether. When David saw his par-
stages of reconstruction in the agencies as are represented in - ents killed in Warsaw by a Nazi
firing squad, he ran away to
post-war era in Europe which the United - Jewish Appeal.
the woods. For weeks he wand-
involves far greater needs and
Obligations Remain
ered alone until a kindly Christ-
opportunities in the tremendous
The establishment of the Presi- ian farmer and his wife hid him
program of putting the Jews on
dent's War Refugee Board early in their home. Later the under-
their feet again.
No one any longer entertains in January of this year and the ground helped him across the-
the illusion born of wishful operations of UNRRA and the border to Romania. But there he
thinking that victory will auto- Allied Control Commission in was caught in the general round-
matically, • restore the homeless liberated territories have not re- up of foreign Jews and sent to
and hounded Jews of Europe to duced the obligations of the pri- exile in Transnistria, the bbrder
a normal status or release the vate organizations. On the con- region of Romania and Russia
Jews of the United States from trary, as these governmental where more than 150,000 Jews
all further obligations and res- bodies opened up new avenues perished by massacre and starva-
Diplomatic pressure exert-
ponsibilities in salvaging the of rescue and relief, the responsi- tion.
ed by the War Refugee Board
wreckage of Jewish life and re- bilities of the agencies of the
storing its shattered structure. United Jewish Appeal were tre- through State Department offi-
During the past year it has be- mendously enlarged. Since its-in- cials resulted in the return of
come increasingly evident that ception, the War Refugee Board, David and 40,000 fellow-exiles to
as we meet the emergencies of under the able and dynamic dir- Bucharest. Through the combin-
war we must also face the tasks ection of John W. Pehle, Execu- ed efforts of the Joint Distribu-
tive Director, has relief almost tion Committee and the Jewish
of ponce.
entirely on the resources of the Agency for Palestine, which re-
Slow Liberation -
major private agencies, such as ceives its funds from the United
Enslavement descended upon those of the UJA, to finance its Palestine Appeal, David obtained
a Jewish people with almost rescue projects.
passage on a ship which sailed.
blitz-like suddenness. Liberation
When the War Refugee Board, from Constanza across the Black
has come in comparatively slow
stages. Out of this process of
progressive liberation has emerg-
SCOTTISH RITE CATHEDRAL . — MASONIC TEMPLE
ed a pattern which now appears
SUNDAY MATINEE and EVENING, OCT. 1
to be established as the nucleus
The Famous Yiddish Stars
foi the reconstruction program of
Mithal Michalesko
* Celia Adler *
Max Dozhik
the days of peace. This pattern
and this nucleus are being shap-
ed by what we are doing today
in meeting the problems of
(Es Kumt Die Goldene Zeit)
rescue and survival of the Jew-
Ity Ostrow
ish. people.
Music by Jacobson
In the Cast:
Looking Into 1945
Reizel Bozhik
Leo Schechter
Looking ahead into 1945 cer-
Anna Levine
Ben Bonus
Anna Siegel
tain basic facts emerge as signi-
Sylvia Fishman
Rose Schlechter
Sam Senby
ficant guides for the future. The
Prices: Matinee, $2.00, $1.50, $1.00.. 75c, plus tax
Nazi devastation of Europe has
Evening, $2.50, $2.00 $1.50, $1.00, plus tax
decimated the Jewish population
Tickets on sale at Jewish Daily Forward, 9124 Linwood, TY. 5-3682, 11 to
5:30 daily; Federation of Polish Jews, 9124 Linwood, TY. 7-9650, 5:30 to
wtih the result that the end of
10 daily, and all day Sunday. Oct. 7, at box office.
the war will find organized Jew-
ish life intact only in the United
States, Palestine and England.
The depleted Jewish communi-
" ties of Europe will not be in any
position to engage in an ex-
UNiversity 3-9054
tensive program of self-help. It
RAndolph 6900
405 Fox Bldg., Detroit 1, Michigan
will, therefore, be our responsi-
bility to assist them until such
Sales Representative _
a time as they can provide ade-
quately for themselves. More-
over, we shall have to face the
problem of the many hundreds
Advertising
of thousands of uprooted Jews
SAINT PAUL 4, MINNESOTA
who will not be able, or will
REMEMBRANCE ADVERTISING serves your customer
not desire to return to the coun-
and by this service reminds him of you.
tries from which they were
* CALENDARS * UTILITY ADVERTISING * DIRECT MAIL
driven by anti=Semitism.
* PLAYING CARDS * BUSINESS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Problem of 'Great Magnitude
* MORALE BUILDING PATRIOTIC PUBLICITY
Obviously the problem will be
* MISSION LEATHER
of • such magnitude that private
agencies will be unable to - cope
Never Forget a Customer—
with it alone. It is expected that
Never Let a Customer Forget You
intergovernmental cooper at ion
and assistance will be forthcom-
Sea to Istanbul. Unfortunately, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Ye..
David had neither the exit nor men, - and North Africa. Recent-
entrance permits required of ly the Joint Distribution Corn-
travelers. But thanks to the ef- mittee made an emergency allot.
forts of Ambassador Steinhardt ment of $3,000,000 for the relief
and the War Refugee Board rep- and transvortation of 8,000 Jews
resentative' in Turkey, he got from the Balkans to Palestine.
through Turkey and on to Pales- Throughout the past year Pales-
tine.
tine has been the major . haven.
Another illustration of how the for refugees in. the Balkans flee-
agencies of the United Jewish ing Nazi deportation. The steady
Appeal are supplementing gov- influx of men, women, and
ernmental assistance to homeless children, almost all of whom are
Jews is the story of the Jewish destitute, has greatly taxed. the
refugees at Ferramonti.
resources of the United Pales-
tine Appeal, which must provide
The Shipment of Clothing
Shortly after the Axis forces housing for the newcomers and
were driven out of Southern retrain and adjust them.
I t a 1 y, t h e JDC established
ResponsibilitWo War Chest
The creation of the Emergency
headquarters at Bari and took
steps to bring aid to thousands Refugee Shelter at Fort Ontario,
of refugees who had been intern- which is now housing some 982
ed at Ferramonti. UNRRA p -ro- refugees for the duration of the
vided clothes for the male adults war, has also increased the res-
in the camps who were given ponsibilities of private agencies.
cast-off uniforms. But the task While the government is provid-
of clothing the women and ing full maintenance, supple-
children presented a problem mentary services are being fur-
which - could not be immediately nished by the National Refugee
solved. At this point the J.D.C. Service with funds raised by the
offered its services and prompt- United Jewish Appeal. The Na-
ly ordered the purchase of $40,- tional Refugee Service has made
000 worth of clothing which was steady progress in adjusting new-
comers to the American way of
shipped from Palestine.
Following the Allied liberation life and in helping them take
of Rome, the JDC opened a their places on the production
special office to minister to the and battle fronts.
The Jews of Detroit have oc-
needs of many of the 9,000 native
Jews as well as approximately cupied a place of leadership in
2,000 refugees in the Italian capi- the American Jewish community
tal.
which -they have earned through
a high degree of service to every
UJA Provides Workers
In order to give UNRRA the Jewish cause. In periods of crisis
closest cooperation in its program their understanding and gener-
of rescue and reconstruction, osity set examples for Jews in
trained social workers have been other cities. With the approach of
assigned to UNRRA's staff by the victory `I am confident that they
agencies of the United Jewish will continue to be in the fore-
Appeal. The Joint Distribution front in establishing a program
Committee has placed ten spec- of action and a standard of ser-
ialists in the field of social ser- vice which will be emulated by
vice at the disposal of UNRRA. other communities in. the era of
In the Middle East the Jewish restoration and rehabilitation for
Agency for Palestine has organ- the Jewish people. This, I am
ized a trained staff to be attach- sure, will be concretely demon-
ed to UNRRA for rescue work strated through Detroit Jewry's
in that area.
overwhelming response to the
There have been many drama- actors will be assisted by Max
tic developments on the rescue Chest of Metropolitan Detroit.
front during the past year which
will go down in history as a year
MICHIGAN'S LARGEST
of the greatest opportunities and
FLORSHEIM. DEALER
achievements in bringing relief,
reconstruction and resettlement
aid to Jews throughout the 'world.
• r
. Since October 1, 1943, more than
Oftigi
14,500 refugees have reached
2231-35 WoOdward Next to Fox Theatre
• n Evenings
Palestine from Spain, Portugal,
SIBLEY'S
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GOLDEN DAYS ARE COMING
MAX N. HAIDY
BROWN & BIGELOW
For over half a century
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wise me nwho demand
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Remembrance
ior
•
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t,o-r
z
1148 GRISWOLD ST.
David Stott Bldg.